SIXTEEN teams battled it out for the coveted team show jumping title at the annual South East region show hosted by Carne Riding Club in Wexford EC last weekend.

The popular competition is run in an exciting Nations Cup-style format and draws horses and riders from all over the AIRC’s south east region to compete.

After the first 60 jumping rounds the 16 starting teams were whittled down to just five with zero penalties - two from Carne RC, Horetown RC, Barrow Valley RC and Thomastown & District RC. As the last rider of each team started their second round, the tension began to build around the arena and each team captain was cheered on by their team mates.

A jump-off was required to sort out the first four places.

First into the arena was Thomastown & District rider Bernadette Murphy and Tinford Lad, who set a good clear round in 33.94 seconds.

Next in was Carne rider Lynn Sheehy and Honey Badger who recorded another lovely clear in 36.22.

The second Carne rider into the jump-off was Jennifer Kehoe on Westwinds Mr Cool, who jumped clear in 33.72, putting them in the lead.

Last rider in, Caroline Kelly for Barrow Valley jumped clear with Leister but alas not fast enough to knock the Carne team off the podium.

Carne RC retained the team title for another year, through the team efforts of Ger Hammel (Taylor Slaney Cruise), Barbara Cullen (Ashfield Pippa), Isabelle Rouviere (Banner Lucky) and Jennifer Kehoe (Westwinds Mr Cool).

Fifth place went to the team of three from Ashwood, while sixth place went to Horetown RC.